Lung cancer is cancer that starts in the lungs.
The lungs are located in the chest. They help you breathe. When you breathe, air goes through your nose, down your windpipe (trachea), and into the lungs, where it spreads through tubes called bronchi. Most lung cancer begins in the cells that line these tubes.
There are two main types of lung cancer:
If the cancer started somewhere else in the body and spread to the lungs, it is called metastatic cancer to the lung.
Lung cancer is the deadliest type of cancer for both men and women. Each year, more people die of lung cancer than breast, colon, and prostate cancers combined.
Lung cancer is more common in older adults. It is rare in people under age 45.
Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer.
The more cigarettes you smoke per day and the earlier you started smoking, the greater your risk of lung cancer. There is no evidence that smoking low-tar cigarettes lowers the risk.
However, lung cancer has occurred in people who have never smoked.
Secondhand smoke (breathing the smoke of others) increases your risk of lung cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 3,000 non-smoking adults will die each year from lung cancer related to breathing secondhand smoke.
The following may also increase one's risk of lung cancer:
Early lung cancer may not cause any symptoms. Many times, lung cancer is found when an x-ray is done for another reason.
Symptoms depend on the specific type of cancer you have, but may include:
For more information, see:
The health care provider will perform a physical exam and ask questions about your medical history. You will be asked if you smoke, and if so, how long you have smoked.
When listening to the chest with a stethoscope, the health care provider can sometimes hear fluid around the lungs, which could (but doesn't always) suggest cancer.
Tests that may be performed include:
Treatment depends on the specific type of lung cancer. Each type is treated differently. Chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery may be needed.
See the individual articles on the different types of lung cancer:
How well a patient does depends on the following:
The cancer may spread to other parts of the body (metastasis). Cancer treatment can cause significant side effects.Call your health care provider if you develop symptoms of lung cancer (particularly if you smoke).If you smoke, quit. It is never too late to stop smoking. Your risk of lung cancer drops dramatically the first year after you quit. You should also avoid breathing in the smoke from other people's cigarettes, cigars, or pipes.
Routine screening for lung cancer using chest x-ray or a lung CT scan is not recommended for people without symptoms. Many studies have been done to look at this idea. Most experts have concluded that, at this time, screening would not help improve a person's chance for a cure or for living longer.
This post is taken from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0004529/
The lungs are located in the chest. They help you breathe. When you breathe, air goes through your nose, down your windpipe (trachea), and into the lungs, where it spreads through tubes called bronchi. Most lung cancer begins in the cells that line these tubes.
There are two main types of lung cancer:
- Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common type of lung cancer.
- Small cell lung cancer makes up about 20% of all lung cancer cases.
If the cancer started somewhere else in the body and spread to the lungs, it is called metastatic cancer to the lung.
Causes, incidence, and risk factors
Lung cancer is more common in older adults. It is rare in people under age 45.
Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer.
The more cigarettes you smoke per day and the earlier you started smoking, the greater your risk of lung cancer. There is no evidence that smoking low-tar cigarettes lowers the risk.
However, lung cancer has occurred in people who have never smoked.
Secondhand smoke (breathing the smoke of others) increases your risk of lung cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 3,000 non-smoking adults will die each year from lung cancer related to breathing secondhand smoke.
The following may also increase one's risk of lung cancer:
- High levels of air pollution
- High levels of arsenic in drinking water
- Radon gas
- Asbestos
- Family history of lung cancer
- Radiation therapy to the lungs
- Exposure to cancer-causing chemicals such as uranium, beryllium, vinyl chloride, nickel chromates, coal products, mustard gas, chloromethyl ethers, gasoline, and diesel exhaust
Symptoms
Symptoms depend on the specific type of cancer you have, but may include:
- Cough that doesn't go away
- Coughing up blood
- Shortness of breath
- Wheezing
- Chest pain
- Loss of appetite
- Losing weight without trying
- Fatigue
- Weakness
- Swallowing difficulty
- Nail problems
- Joint pain
- Hoarseness or changing voice
- Shoulder pain
- Swelling of the face or arms
- Facial paralysis
- Eyelid drooping
- Bone pain or tenderness
For more information, see:
Signs and tests
When listening to the chest with a stethoscope, the health care provider can sometimes hear fluid around the lungs, which could (but doesn't always) suggest cancer.
Tests that may be performed include:
- Chest x-ray
- Sputum cytology test to look for cancer cells
- Blood work
- CT scan of the chest
- MRI of the chest
- Positron emission tomography (PET) scan
- Bronchoscopy combined with biopsy
- Pleural biopsy
- CT scan directed needle biopsy
- Mediastinoscopy with biopsy
- Open lung biopsy
- Endoscopic esophageal ultrasound (EUS) with biopsy
- Small cell lung cancer
- Non-small cell lung cancer
Treatment
See the individual articles on the different types of lung cancer:
- Non-small cell lung cancer
- Small cell lung cancer
Expectations (prognosis)
- Type of lung cancer
- Whether or not the cancer has spread
- Your age
- Your overall health
- How well you respond to treatment
Complications
Calling your health care provider
Prevention
Routine screening for lung cancer using chest x-ray or a lung CT scan is not recommended for people without symptoms. Many studies have been done to look at this idea. Most experts have concluded that, at this time, screening would not help improve a person's chance for a cure or for living longer.
References
- Alberg AJ, Ford JG, Samet JM; American College of Chest Physicians. Epidemiology of lung cancer: ACCP evidence-based clinical practice guidelines (2nd edition). Chest. 2007;132:29S-55S. [PubMed: 17873159]
- Bach PB, Silvestri GA, Hanger M, Jett JR. Screening for lung cancer: ACCP evidence-based clinical practice guidelines (2nd edition). Chest. 2007;132:69S-77S. [PubMed: 17873161]
- Croswell JM, Baker SG, Marcus PM, Clapp JD, Kramer BS. Cumulative incidence offalse-positive test results in lung cancer screening: a randomized trial. Ann Intern Med. 2010 Apr 20;152(8):505-12, W176-80. Erratum in: Ann Intern Med. 2010 Jun 1;152(11):759. [PubMed: 15006108]
- Jett JR, Schild SE, Keith RL, Kesler KA. Treatment of non-small cell lung cancer, stage IIIB: ACCP evidence-based clinical practice guidelines (2nd edition). Chest. 2007;132:266S-276S. [PubMed: 17873173]
- Johnson DH, Blot WJ, Carbone DP, et al. Cancer of the lung_ Non-small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer. In: Abeloff MD, Armitage JO, Niederhuber JE, Kastan MB, McKena WG. Clinical Oncology. 4th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier; 2008:chap 76.
- Review Date: 9/26/2010.Reviewed by: David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc., and Yi-Bin Chen, MD, Leukemia/Bone Marrow Transplant Program, Massachusetts General Hospital.
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